Siegel selected to HOF

Former Tunkhannock Area High School assistant and volunteer wrestling coach Gary Siegel is among 13 members selected to this year’s class of the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame, which will be inducted in a ceremony at Genetti’s in Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 17.

Siegel was Crestwood High School’s first state champion in any sport, winning the 1978 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championship, and compiling a 92-11-1 record in his final three seasons of high school wrestling.

He was a three-time district champion, three-time regional place-winner and three-time state place-winner.

At Syracuse University, Siegel went 88-17-1 and was a three-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association place-winner and 1981 NCAA qualifier.

In his senior season, Siegel was 14-0-1 and ranked fifth in the country before a knee injury ended his collegiate career.

In 1981, he wrestled in the National Freestyle Championships for the New York Athletic Club, and in 1986, he wrestled professionally with the Professional Freestyle Wrestling Association.

Along with Tunkhannock, Siegel has coached at Wilkes University with head coach John Reese, and was one of the founders of the Wyoming Valley Freestyle Association. He is currently a senior account manager at Golden Business Machines, Inc.

Siegel’s son, Ben, recently wrapped up his Tunkhannock wrestling career, amassing more than 100 wins, and was also on the state champion cross country team.

The Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame has been inducting influential sports figures since 1985.

For more information on tickets to the induction ceremony, please call 570-824-7133.

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